Labubu Mania Continues with $300K+ Auction Surprise
A surprise-filled charity auction hosted by Pharrell’s Joopiter proved that Labubu plushies aren’t just cute—they’re couture collectibles.
With designer collaborations, pop star connections, and astounding auction prices, the Labubu craze shows no sign of slowing down.
Barely over a week after a giant Labubu figure sold for a record price, another auction of the popular collectible toys caught global attention. Joopiter, an online platform founded by musician and fashion designer Pharrell Williams, held an auction that ended on June 18 featuring 14 exclusive Labubu plush toys, which WWD (Women’s Wear Daily) reports each sold for $18,750 to $31,250, excluding buyer’s premium. Presale estimates for the toys were $300 to $500.
The auction, Sacai x Seventeen, celebrated the Japanese fashion brand Sacai and the Korean pop group Seventeen. Proceeds go to UNESCO; Williams and Seventeen are goodwill ambassadors for the organization. According to online fashion and lifestyle publication Hypebeast, the auction totaled $337,500.
The Labubu figures were explicitly created for the auction in collaboration with Sacai. Their fur is a unique shade of green, although, in pictures, it is concealed by the custom onesie designed by Sacai with Carhartt WIP, a fashion brand whose collections are based on Carhartt workwear. The onesie has a “J-17-S” emblem on the back, a logo created for the auction, referencing Joopiter, Seventeen, and Sacai. Each figure also wears a beaded necklace.
Part of the appeal of Labubu comes from their nature as blind box toys; buyers don’t know which design they’re getting until they open the box. The element of surprise and the chance of getting a rare one keep loyal fans coming back for more. The Sacai x Seventeen auction kept this factor. Thirteen of the available Labubu figures wear beige onesies, but the fourteenth wears an exclusive surprise color. The auction presented all fourteen Labubu lots identically; bidders could not choose whether to bid on the standard beige or the surprise color. Final bidders were in for a surprise; they would not know which figure they had purchased until they received it.
The auction also captures another key aspect of Labubu’s popularity: Their ties to fashion and pop culture. Among the high-fashion set, attaching Labubus to designer handbags is a favorite way to display them. Pop stars like Lisa of the Korean group Blackpink and singer and fashion icon Rihanna helped bring mainstream attention to the toy. Even the art world is getting in on the trend; the Art Basel Shop in Basel 2025 offered a limited edition Labubu, which quickly sold out. The toy has gone beyond a collectible and become a global phenomenon.
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